A whiteboard wrinkled by flames still had the topic, “Anarchy,” written on it. The topic was apparently being considered in the Civil Education curriculum. How ironical it turned out to be, indeed, as what befell the Ansar-Ud-Deen Academy, Lagos, last week could as well be described as anarchy.
Although located in the Randle Avenue area of Surulere, a community that is well known for its cluster of schools, the Ansar-Ud-Deen Academy shares boundary with a rather strange neighbour — the once dreaded Odua People’s Congress (OPC).
Like the predictable fate of an air-filled balloon tied next to a thicket of thorns, the Islamic school’s structure and premises were inadvertently set ablaze by warring members of the vigilance group who have always been known for their dare-devil operations.
It was gathered that everything had gone as usual on Friday 16 January. School activities had ended and students had gone home. Even the after-school lesson organised for final-year students of the school had ended. But little did the teachers and students know that the next time they would see their beloved school, it would be in ruins.
Trouble was said to have started at around 7.00 p.m. on the fateful day when members of a faction of the OPC from another location stormed the premises of the faction that shared boundary with the school. The factions are believed to have been at war for some time leaving members of the Randle community terrified.
This time, it was learnt, a money-related issue prompted an aggrieved faction to set the premises of the other located at Randle on fire. Given the time of the incident and the fact that the environment is predominantly occupied by schools and is largely deserted at night, there was nobody around to seek immediate help to put out the fire. Thus, after destroying the OPC base, the fire spread to the school, leaving a trail of destruction behind.
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